Anilrgowda

With Windows Vista shipping at the end of January, PC gaming is about to get shaken up a bit due to Microsoft pushing the Games For Windows initiative. DX10 has the potential to take visuals to a whole new level, and while there won’t be too many games that will take advantage of this new tech, we can’t wait to see what it does to the next generation of PC titles. We’re looking at 2007 as the year to upgrade our rigs to handle what could most likely be one of the best years in PC gaming in some time.

While Valve promised us back in June that gamers would get their second slice of episodic pie by the end of 2006, who were they kidding? We know Valve, and Valve knows delays. But how can we complain when they announced that they'd treat gamers to a triple threat of first-person love with the addition of Team Fortress 2 and Portal?
Finally, Gordon will leave City 17, and we’re guessing we’ll see a move toward where Dr. Mossman transmitted a message. From what we’ve seen with the trailers, we know that the Vortigaunts will play a role in the game, and something tragic has happened to Alyx. While Valve has stated that key members will die, we’re wondering if Alyx will be one of the fallen cast members. Striders and the long-talked-about Strider Buster will also appear, and new enemy types such as the Hunters and giant antlions will make their debut.
But seriously, who cares! We want Team Fortress 2! With almost 10 years of development and a completely overhauled look, we’re absolutely drooling in anticipation for this. Tack on some crazy Portal puzzle action, and we’re completely sold, already. Sure, this whole package will also be released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, but we’re purists and we’ll be playing this baby on the PC.

The World Of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade: Warn your family. Warn your friends. Warn your loved ones. The most anticipated MMO expansion is set to be released in just a few short weeks, and once it is you can expect the rest of your life to not matter, and productivity in the Game Informer offices to go right out the window. We’d be afraid of letting Andy know that, considering he’s our boss and all – but he plays too, so we’re golden.
With an increased level cap, flying mounts, two new playable races, jewel crafting, new PvP, and new instances and raids, the World Of Warcraft as we know it will be sucking our lives right into the Dark Portal. Azeroth, here we come!
Don’t think we’re selfish because we’re going to be hocking all of the holiday presents we receive this year to buy a DX10-equipped computer. After seeing the latest Crysis DX10 media that was recently unveiled, it’s a done deal. We were already big fans of Crytek because of FarCry, and from what we’ve experienced so far with Crysis it’s looking like the team has another potential hit on their hands.
You are Jake Dunn, a member of a U.S. special forces team sent in to a remote island to investigate an unknown object. While the initial island combat may be a bit reminiscent to FarCry, once the island is frozen, that’ll all change. Not only that, but once you’re in zero gravity when you board the alien craft, the game is set to feel much more like Descent than a standard first person shooter. What were most excited about is to see how the Nano Suit changes up the game, as well. Allowing the player to traverse non-linear environments all the while adjusting the abilities of strength, speed, cloaking and armor should make for very intriguing single and multiplayer moments.

When UT 2004 released many moons ago, a weird phenomenon plagued the Game Informer editors. For some strange reason, editors would come in day after day late, tired, and carrying sacks full of Red Bull. With many late-night bouts of Onslaught and Assault, it was no wonder why the Game Informer Online server was always full of players.
Finally this year, Epic is going to be releasing the follow-up – Unreal Tournament 2007. The game will initially appear in demo form before the game is released for PC and then PlayStation 3. Powered by Unreal Engine 3, much of the game is still under wraps and is staged to make a playable appearance in January at a Midway press event. However, we do know that there will be a number of new vehicles, air combat will take more of a role, and fan favorite Onslaught will return. New modes include Unreal Warfare, which essentially is a massive battle that’s said to take place on levels as large as three Onslaught maps put together. With environments so large, it’s nice to know that players will have the ability to jump onto hoverboards, ala Back To The Future. Apparently, Cliffy B had a crush on Michael J. Fox back in the day. Who knew?



While we still have fun with the Sims, it’s nice to see Will Wright come up with something new. But calling Spore just “something new” would be a tragedy in itself. The concept alone is beyond ambitious, and being able to create a creature, create its habitat and civilizations, and then embark out and go where no legged-booger-dude-guy has ever gone before excites us. Plus having the opportunity to destroy someone else’s civilization is icing on the cake.
At its core, Spore is all about user-created content and the sharing of that content. Any user-created character will automatically be uploaded to the Spore server and fed into your game. You’ll then be able to fly to anyone’s world and abduct or terrorize their inhabitants. While Wright promises the game will be on a number of different platforms, we’re itching for the PC version, by far.

The way the MMO space is so dominated right now, it’s not which MMO do you play, it’s whether you’re Horde or Alliance. There are a number of impressive MMOs that are looking to chip away at World Of Warcraft’s subscription base, and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes has quite a bit of potential. We’ve seen a lot of the game post-E3 at the German Games Convention and most recently here at our offices, and we’ve come away extremely impressed.
The world of Talon is beyond massive. In the north, there are the majestic green hills of Thestra; the south contains the barren deserts of Qalia; and the east features the treacherous jungles of Kojan. Fortunately, you can buy your first mount at level 8, so ripping around this vast world will get much easier. There’s a major focus on guild and player ownership, crafting and a dynamic combat system. With 19 races and 15 different professions, our early time in the beta test has left us uttering the statement, “Uh oh, we’re going to be totally screwed when this comes out.”



Kane has returned to command the Brotherhood of Nod in the third Tiberium War against the Global Defense Initiative. Based in the year 2047, the Earth is covered in Tiberium and sectioned off in different infested zones. Blue zones are inhabitable, where red zones are uninhabitable areas that are constantly affected by nasty Ion Storms.
While there will be more than 30 single-player missions, we have to admit we’re all about online with this bad boy. With a fully featured content editor, spectator modes, voice support and player commentary, EA’s thought process of making this RTS more like a sport has the potential to be realized.

Splash Damage is back with round #2 of Enemy Territory, and this time they’re giving it the complete Quake treatment. While the class-based, first-person genre isn’t something entirely new, Quake Wars is seemingly much more than just a mixture of Quake and the Battlefield formula.
Taking place years before Quake II, it’s the Earth’s Global Defense Force versus the Strogg in a 12-on-12 battle. With five classes to choose from on each side, players will have to work together to accomplish objective-based goals in the battle to save Earth from the Strogg. With drop-dead-gorgeous visuals from a highly modified Doom 3 engine, tons of weaponry and vehicles, Quake Wars is staged to be one of the must-have PC first-person shooters.




Like id and Quake before it, DICE’s Battlefield series has become a staple of how to structure an open-world FPS on the PC. When the original Battlefield 1942 came out, a modder named Frank DeLise was quick to create a modern skin for the game and dubbed it Desert Combat and DICE (later bought by EA) took notice. After breaking ties with DICE and forming Kaos Studios, Frontlines: Fuel of War was born.
Now that the Battlefield style of gameplay has been seen in so many games, a simple copy isn't enough. Frontlines aims to eliminate the “small numbers in a huge world” problem that tends to happen in empty servers buy pushing everyone to the frontlines of the battle. Instead of just running off in different directions and fighting randomly, the action will be focused on a single point until it's captured and will then move on. This allows for an action-packed match regardless of player numbers.
That’s not all Frontlines has in store for PC players in 2007. Destructible environments will also make their way into the game, something Battlefield players have been clamoring for since the series’ inception. Trees will fall, walls will crumble and smoke will litter the battlefield to help create the next level of war immersion the masses are ready for.

While the futuristic shooter has made attempts to enter the MMO space previously, it’s come with mixed results. However, MMO mastermind Richard Garriot is taking a break from the midevil, and giving something completely different a shot in 2007 with Tabula Rasa. Even though the game has gone through a serious overhaul in its development, it’s adding some new twists to the genre that should separate this game from the rest of the pack.
Tabula Rasa will focus not just on group play, but more on soloing. Unlike most MMOs, each quest will be able to be soloed if gamers prefer. However, if looking for a group, players will be able to easily teleport or jump to waypoints to group. Quests will dynamically alter the world, instead of generically pretending to help the war effort. With a quick pick-up-and-play attitude and drool-worthy visuals, we’re looking forward to seeing what Lord British can bring to the shooter genre.